The Voyage of St Brendan

with illustrations by Kathleen Neeley

A.B. Jackson, Kathleen Neeley

• Publisher: Bloodaxe Books
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781780375663
• eBook ISBN:
  9781780375670
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: European Poetry
• Index: Literature

In The Voyage of St Brendan, A.B. Jackson tells the tale of the legendary seafaring Irish abbot. After burning a book of fantastical stories, Brendan is compelled to sail the ocean with a crew of six monks in a leather-skinned currach; his task, to prove the existence of wonders in the world and create a new book of marvels. Discoveries include Jasconius the island-whale, a troop of Arctic ghosts, a hellmouth of tortured souls, a rock-bound Judas, and the magical castle of the boar-headed Walserands. Although the roots of this legend lie in early Irish tales and the Latin Voyage of Brendan the Abbot of the ninth century, Jackson has taken the 14th-century Middle Dutch version of Brendan's voyage as the template for this engaging, witty and spirited interpretation, notable for its humour and inventiveness. The book is beautifully illustrated with a series of black and white linocuts by the American artist Kathleen Neeley, one of which features in colour on the cover.

Table of contents

• Description
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Brendan
• The Burning of the Book
• The Boat
• Brendan’s Meditation
• The Crew
• Shore Song
• The Great Fish
• The Mermayd
• Thirsting Souls
• The Coagulated Sea
• The Cliff-top Monastery
• Interlude
• The Rock Saint
• Hellmouth
• The Siren
• The Stolen Bridle
• Devils’ Mountain
• Respite
• Brendan’s Vision
• Many Fish
• The Turf Rider
• Judas
• Burning Birds
• Multum Bona Terra
• The Walserands
• The Sea Leaf
• The Sea Serpent
• A World Below
• The New Book
• Home
• Burial
• Notes
• Select bibliography
• About the Author
• Copyright